


a longer mission

by mellifluous (TpLoz), penguinberryfest



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Wizards, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-23
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:06:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25228018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TpLoz/pseuds/mellifluous, https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguinberryfest/pseuds/penguinberryfest
Summary: Kyungsoo just wanted to make an arrest, but the fugitive had other ideas.Written for Penguin Berry Fest Round 02, Prompt BRY-15.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O
Comments: 11
Kudos: 43
Collections: Penguin Berry Fest- Round 02 (January- July 2020)





	a longer mission

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: BRY-15** \- Baekhyun, is a wizard on the run, certainly doesn't act like a fugitive. He's too friendly and LOUD. Maybe Kyungsoo's sources are wrong.   
>  **Disclaimer: penguin berry fest does not own exo and/or any characters that are mentioned in the stories.** their appearance in these fics do not represent them in real life. authors will be tagged after reveals unless they wish to remain anonymous.
> 
> A/N: Thank you to the mods and to my prompter! I hope I did your beautiful prompt justice, and that you enjoy this! This was so much fun to write, and although I decided to scrap most of my first draft and start again, both drafts really made me think about how exactly I wanted to tackle the prompt. It also helped me become more aware of my weaknesses when it comes to writing, so I hope I grew at least a little in the process of writing both drafts.
> 
> Enjoy~!

_ “Byun Baekhyun, you are under arrest according to code-” _

  
  


Fifteen minutes.

That’s how long they’ve been walking through this forest, and that’s when Kyungsoo had declared that Baekhyun was under arrest after introducing himself, but the fugitive wizard had merely smiled at Kyungsoo and claimed he had something important to do first and then, when that had been done, Kyungsoo could arrest him. 

This situation had never happened to Kyungsoo. Ever since he became a guard he’d had to track many criminals, thieves and the like, and sure, sometimes they’d try to run, but they had never nonchalantly walked away from an arrest. Never. And Kyungsoo was at a loss. He searched his mind for if he had received any bit of information during training that could help, but came up with nothing.

Besides, it wasn’t like Baekhyun was resisting arrest. He clearly said Kyungsoo could arrest him after he did whatever he needed to do.

Kyungsoo nervously eyed glowing red magic mushrooms that littered the path they were taking, and spooked at the strange and animalistic noises that echoed from deep in the woods.

The fear bubbled into his chest and he asked a question in hopes of conversation to distract him.

  
  
  


“So, what exactly are you looking for in the woods?”

Baekhyun glanced at him curiously, and replied, “A woman in town asked me to find her son. She said he’s been missing for two days and that he came to the forest to gather wood.”

“But why are you looking for him? There are a few guards posted in the town, why can’t she ask them to look for her son?”

Baekhyun laughed, genuinely surprised by Kyungsoo’s question. Maybe Kyungsoo wasn’t privy to the same information that Baekhyun was. They both stopped walking, Baekhyun first and then Kyungsoo. Baekhyun sighed and placed a hand on Kyungsoo’s metal armoured shoulder, and gave him a small sad smile.

“The guards don’t care about the people of this town. She told him about her son, but they laughed at her request for them to search,” explained Baekhyun, a sad tone in his voice as he let his hand drop from Kyungsoo’s shoulder and began to walk once again. 

  
  


Kyungsoo followed suit, although now his golden- accented guard uniform felt ten times heavier. The plated armour weighed his steps as he walked and with the addition of the cloth underneath, the uniform felt as if it were chafing his skin. The sword on his waist annoyingly slapped against his legs. 

The noises of the forest no longer perturbed Kyungsoo, instead, his guard status and equipment bothered him. The Royal Guard has a duty to protect and serve the people, but is that what they’re doing? Are they really protecting and serving when they ignore the pleas of a mother who has lost her son?

  
  


“I will help you look for her son,” Kyungsoo spoke, breaking the rhythm of their footsteps causing Baekhyun to pause.

Baekhyun brightened up considerably and nodded, “Okay! Let’s find this man!”

“Why are you shouting when I’m right beside you?” asked Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo looked around their surroundings, hoping that Baekhyun hadn’t alerted some beast to their presence in the forest.

“I’m happy! I usually do everything alone, and it’s nice to have company!” 

  
  
  


Kyungsoo had hoped that Baekhyun’s earlier volume when speaking had just been because Kyungsoo declared he was under arrest, but slowly he was figuring out that Baekhyun only had one volume setting and that was LOUD. It continued as he engaged Kyungsoo in more and more conversation, much to Kyungsoo’s dismay who jumped at the slightest sound from the forest. It wasn’t a surprise that someone would get lost in here.

The friendly slope of Baekhyun’s shoulders was slowly transforming into a rigid, defensive stance as they moved further into the forest. Every-so-often Baekhyun would stop and take in their surroundings, touch some tree trunks and take some dirt between his finger tips as if the trees, dirt and plants were all speaking to him. Telling him some vital information.

While they walked, Baekhyun taking the lead, they chatted aimlessly about their lives. It was probably the most refreshing conversation that Kyungsoo had since he joined the Royal Guard, and he almost craved more. Questions were constantly at the tip of his tongue as the wizard deluged more and more information from past adventures. Kyungsoo was beginning to wonder whether Baekhyun was a fugitive at all, given that the man seemed to help so many in need. Particularly people who had been ignored by the Royal Guard. 

For the first time in his career, he badly wanted to take the uniform off. To hang up the gauntlets that strangled his wrists. It wasn’t like he hadn’t heard of the Royal Guard being negligent, but in his mind, that was always an individual rather than the collective. The motto that he had stitched into his mind felt like a dirty lie, like a mask that they hid behind. 

_ Oh, we couldn’t possibly have done such a horrible thing! We strive for justice and peace! _

Kyungsoo scoffed to himself. Turns out the Royal Guard only strives for justice and peace in their own definitions. 

  
  
  


Baekhyun raised an eyebrow in amusement at Kyungsoo and said, “Don’t keep it to yourself, now.” 

“It just never occurred to me that the Royal Guard might actually be the bad guys. When I was a child, all I wanted to do was become a guard so I could protect the less fortunate, the defenceless. I thought it’s what every guard wanted -- to protect, serve the people. Not abuse their power.”

The trees around them were beginning to glow purple and red from the magic deep in the forest and it gave Baekhyun a pretty glow around his head, changing the hue of his light brown hair to a fusion of reds and purples. The moment felt strangely intimate. Baekhyun dipped his head and the corners of his lips curled down in dissatisfaction. 

“We all have those moments. When we realise that who we trusted became someone or something we couldn’t trust. It sucks. But a lot of people have learned not to trust the guard the hard way. I’ve seen some horrible shit that I can’t unsee. Relearning ideas is never easy, if anyone knows that, it’s me.” 

  
  
  


He looked back up at Kyungsoo’s sombre face, and gave him a small pitiful smile. It made Kyungsoo even more curious about the man. Kyungsoo felt as if there was much more it his story than just being a fugitive. He was kind and just, but in a way that let you know he’d been dragged through the mud and still came out on the other side. Baekhyun adapted to kindness. 

The scratches on his forearms and hands told Kyungsoo of the battles Baekhyun had fought. Baekhyun was friendly while remaining defensive, so he knew not to let his guard down in front of any stranger. Kyungsoo felt a thirst, he wanted to find out more about Baekhyun, but he didn’t know how he’d quench it.

  
  


Baekhyun looked as if he were about to say something more about the Royal Guard, but his eyes glazed over as he spotted something behind Kyungsoo. Baekhyun’s breath sped up, and his fists clenched up as if he were anticipating a battle.

Kyungsoo heard it before he had a chance to turn around to look at it. A rumbling growl shook the trees, their leaves and branches clashed against each other with each step it took. Kyungsoo could feel the reverberation throughout the ground, pulsating up into his bones and rocking his joints.

  
  


“Run!” screamed Baekhyun as the top of his lungs. The shrill scream and the low roar combined, making Kyungsoo’s ear throb. 

  
  


Baekhyun clutched Kyungsoo’s hand and yanked him into the thick of the trees. They tried their best to avoid roots and bushes, but Kyungsoo’s foot caught under a thin yet strong root and his head slammed to the forest floor and his calloused hand yanked out of Baekhyun’s softer one.

Panic crawled into his throat as the thundering steps of the beast intensified, if he didn’t un-wedge his foot and start running again, he’ll be a goner. 

“Shit, shit, shit!” Baekhyun appeared at his side, pulling his foot free and lifting Kyungsoo back up onto his feet. The dark of the forest with it’s accented glows made Kyungsoo feel queasy, his legs weakened and if Baekhyun hadn’t been holding him up he surely would have fallen. 

They broke into a run again, this time with Baekhyun holding Kyungsoo around the waist rather than by his hand. Somehow they moved quicker, as if their feet were charged with magic. And Kyungsoo supposed that Baekhyun had enchanted their shoes so they’d move with less restriction.

Even with magic bolstering their speed, however, the beast was gaining on them. Kyungsoo silently prayed to some unknown god that his family would be kept safe. There were worse ways to die, he supposed.

The forest seemed to subtly incline in the direction they ran in, the terrain morphed into borderline mountainous with more rocks jutting out and the trees growing sparser. It would be ideal if it continued on like that, and they’d slowly lose the beast, but Kyungsoo could just about make out what looked like a steep incline in the distance. 

They were about to run into a mountain, literally.

“Baekhyun! A mountain!”

Baekhyun’s arm around his waist tightened as Kyungsoo’s words registered. 

“Hold on!” 

Baekhyun held his other hand out and  _ something _ happened. Kyungsoo doesn’t know what exactly, but there was a change in the air, a spark, and soon they barrelled into a hole in the mountain wall. A cave to be precise, which was evidently that  _ something _ that had happened seconds before.

They smacked to the cave floor, although Baekhyun took the brunt of the fall by placing himself under Kyungsoo. 

The wizard gasped for breath in small pants but Kyungsoo couldn’t move a muscle from the fear and adrenaline. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Kyungsoo spatt out. He seriously hoped Baekhyun hadn’t sustained any damage to his head, they had hit the ground hard and the tiny rocks that littered the cave floor made Kyungsoo wince at the thought of it digging into Baekhyun’s back. 

Baekhyun patted his back and choked out, “Last time, that was so much smoother. Less… stones poking into my back...”

  
  


The beast roared in despair at having lost the two, the vibrations causing water to drip from the ceiling of the cave. The drops petered off as the beast gave up and stomped away, and finally, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun could relax again.

As their muscles grew lax, they became aware of each and every pain and ache from their run throughout the forest, but Kyungsoo ignored these pains in favour of getting up off the other man who had saved them.

Kyungsoo held a hand down for Baekhyun to take, which he took with a pained smile. Baekhyun turned around, looking at the dark, dank cave, and Kyungsoo sucked in a breath when he spotted the tears in the wizard's shirt and skin on his back. Some of the gashes still had bits of rock embedded in them.

  
  


“We should really clean those up… Do they hurt a lot?” Kyungsoo asked. It unsettled him that his voice echoed into the maw of the cave. 

“They should heal over time,” replied Baekhyun, thoughtfully. “My liver on the other hand! I don’t know if it will ever recover after being poked with the hilt of your sword.” He rubbed at his right side pitifully, and wincing dramatically.

Kyungsoo scoffed lightly and rolled his eyes as he examined a pile of rocks at the side of the cave which looked like they could have been used to light a fire.

Baekhyun added, “Speaking of that sword of yours! How come you didn’t defend us from that beast? I’m sure your training wasn’t for nothing...” 

Kyungsoo was sure Baekhyun was simply just baiting him into a playful argument to distract him, but Kyungsoo couldn’t help but rise to the bait. He turned to Baekhyun with furrowed brows.

“Oh, I’m to blame? What about you Mr. Great Magician? Couldn’t you have helped defeat the beast?” 

Baekhyun’s eyes seemed as if they could pop out of their head in anger. “Ma - magician?! I’m a  _ wizard _ ! A-and… I’m not that strong.” He exhaled through his nostrils like a dragon. Kyungsoo wouldn’t be surprised if flames blew out with how insulted the wizard was. 

Kyungsoo could barely make it out in the dim lighting, but there was a hint of sadness in Baekhyun’s eyes. Maybe the fact that Baekhyun wasn’t strong enough was a blow to his self-esteem, or perhaps he remembered something that saddened him. Either way, Kyungsoo thought it best to change the subject.

  
  


“Someone lit a fire in here. It might have been our missing man?” suggested Kyungsoo.

Baekhyun came over and inspected the rocks. “Could have been. It looks like it’s a day or two old though.”

  
  


Kyungsoo tentatively stepped further into the cave and stopped when his foot came into contact with a rough cotton shirt, torn in two places. He picked it up and showed it to Baekhyun. 

  
  


“It’s worth a look?” Kyungsoo suggested.

  
  


Baekhyun shrugged his shoulders. “We might as well, seeing as we have no other leads to follow.” 

Together, they walked further into the cave with slow steps. Their breaths echoed off the walls. As they walked the cave grew narrower, and because there wasn’t a huge amount of space, Kyungsoo and Baekhyun had to stick closer together. If something tried to attack them, they didn’t want to be blindsided. 

Kyungsoo felt a hand slither into his. He froze and looked down to see it was Baekhyun’s hand that held his own. 

  
  


“What are you doing?” Kyungsoo asked hesitantly. They had a pressing concern and Kyungsoo didn’t want to be distracted by the warm weight of Baekhyun’s hand. 

Baekhyun tried his best to look casual, as if he hadn’t just slipped his hand into Kyungsoo’s, but the tremble in his voice betrayed him. 

  
  


“Oh, this?” 

  
  


Kyungsoo nodded slowly when Baekhyun lifted their hands into the air. 

  
  


“Oh, it’s nothing. I thought maybe you’d want some comfort. You know, like a- a child holds their parents’ hand for comfort. Haha. hah…” 

  
  


Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow, sighed and continued through the cave. He tugged on Baekhyun’s hand carefully to urge him along.

They walked, Baekhyun bent down so as not to hit the low ceiling and their feet shuffling along, until they came to a cavern. 

The cavern was miraculously filled with bright flowers, plentiful with colour, and a pool of glistening water. Water flowed into the pool causing beautiful ripples in the water. Instead of a dank cavern, it was a plentiful spring which shouldn’t exist. 

Kyungsoo vividly remembered the stories his father would tell him of magical springs deep in the mountains where the goddesses resided. As Kyungsoo grew, he dismissed the tales as wishful thinking. Maybe he was wrong.

Baekhyun echoed his disbelief. 

  
  


“Oh my goddess,” he whispered.

  
  


Kyungsoo nodded, in awe.

  
  


With a blink of their eyes, a woman appeared at the side of the pool and gave them a relaxed smile.

Her hair flowed behind her and her voice sounded serene when she spoke.

  
  


“Baekhyun. Kyungsoo.” She referred to them both in greeting, and Kyungsoo heard Baekhyun gasp. “It’s finally time,” she stated.

“For what?” asked Kyungsoo, in a trance.

“For your destiny, of course.” She grinned and giggled, before continuing to explain. “I am the goddess Boa.”

“What exactly is our destiny?” asked Baekhyun. He was squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand while ever so slightly moving closer to the armoured man.

Boa tapped her chin before the answer occurred to her. “To save the world!” A doubtful look came over her face. “I think? This assignment was given to me centuries ago so the details are a little fuzzy, but yes, I remember. You two,” she gestured between Kyungsoo and Baekhyun gracefully, “have a profound bond. You’re destined to do good in the world, but only together! If you are far apart at any time, then bad things will happen.”

  
  


When Kyungsoo began his day, he had hoped it would go well and that nothing bad would happen, but right now, he felt his mind spiralling at this news - that apparently his destiny was to spend the rest of his life with Baekhyun. Baekhyun, the man he was supposed to arrest. Friendly and chatty Baekhyun.

There were worse ways to spend your life, but it seemed so sudden.

  
  


As soon as she appeared, Boa disappeared. They couldn’t ask more questions, and without answers, where do they go from here? 

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun stood, listening to the flowing water. 

  
  


Finally, still holding hands, they faced each other.

  
  


“This is gonna be a longer mission than you expected, huh?” Baekhyun chimed.

  
  


Kyungsoo couldn’t help but laugh, and his laughter bounced all around the walls of the cavern and unknowingly, into Baekhyun’s heart.

  
  


“Yes, yes it will.” 

  
  


And maybe, Kyungsoo didn’t mind too much.


End file.
